Page 10 of Say You Will

To my way of thinking, it’s one more reason to want to put distance between us.

“Distance won’t make a difference. The only reason you weren’t hurt was because David was there to save you. You don’t have anyone to help you like that in New York. I spend every moment visualizing you murdered or worse,” she says.

“The McRaes have security out the wazoo, and I’m headed back there tomorrow.”

“What if Oliver gets sick again? Or you do?”

“We’ll be fine.”

When Charlotte called to tell me about Bronwyn, I’d tried to leave immediately to go to her. Before that could happen, someone tried to drag me into his car. Then Oliver got intosomething, and I had to turn to my mother for help with the vet bills. Then some jerk stole my car. Between stress and the immunosuppressants I take,Igot sick. Finally, when Oliver and I were well enough, I managed to get on that plane.

It was a mess for me. For my mother? It was proof that I wasn’t ready to live away from her, let alone on the other side of the country.

She takes a steadying breath. “You can’t take advantage of the McRaes forever, and you can’t live like a normal person. Every single time you try, sooner or later, some sick asshole thinks you’re me and comes after you. The only reason nothing terrible happened in the past was because I provided you with protection. I know it’s not fun, believe me. And I know it’s my fault that people target you, but you can’t live on your own. For so many reasons. You can’t.”

“Can’t you understand that living with you and covering for you all the time only makes that situation worse for me?” It was convenient for her to have a live-in double. It allowed her privacy, as I distracted the paparazzi for her. I stuffed my bra, wore her clothing and sunglasses, and kept my head down as I hustled with a bodyguard from our house or car to another location. Photographers rarely caught on that it was the daughter they were following.

Mom takes a shuddering breath. “When you can’t find a job because you got a useless degree and realize you need to finish grad school, you let me know. I’m removing you from my health insurance until you come to your senses. If you’re the ‘adult’ you like to say you are, then you’ll find a way to deal with it. I won’t punish you when you come back. We’ll forget this ever happened.”

I knew she was going to do this. Hoping she wouldn’t use every tool she has to control me would have been an exercise in futility. “Jonny will put me on his insurance if I need it, I’m sure.”

With any luck, I’ll find a job with benefits soon and won’t need his help at all. I’ve been hoarding my meds by taking less than prescribed in case she did this. It’s a bad idea, but I will chew my own leg off like an animal in a trap before I move back in with her. “I’m not coming back to California.”

“I’ll be here when you need to come home.”

Beep. Beep. Beep.My shoulders relax, and I let out a slow breath when she hangs up.

When I sit on the edge of the bed, Oliver rises from his corner, stretches, then trots over to me. I smile and lean down to pet him. In response, he stands on his back legs to lean against me.

I give him a rub behind his ear. “Don’t let her get to you. I’ll find a job. Then I’ll find a place to live. It’s going to be great. It’s exciting.”

His tail swishes in response, his long, skinny body raised up like a prairie dog and his chin held high. I call it his “majestic wiener dog” pose.

My cousin Finn is providing this hotel room after I accepted the last-minute position as his fiancee’s bridesmaid when one of them dropped out. I’m the right size for the dress. The shoes are half a size too small, but I’ll make it work. After that, I’ll go back to Bronwyn’s parents’ place for a couple weeks while I look for a job and apartment.

I click on the banking app on my phone to check my balance. I’m extremely lucky that my parents paid for my education to this point. So I don’t have that anvil looming over my head, at least. I don’t take it for granted, for a moment, but I have zero credit. In an absolute emergency, I could ask Clarissa or Bronwyn for help, but the thought makes me shrivel inside.

According to the bank app, my account currently holds $548.72. Not desperation-level, but not enough for even one month’s rent, let alone first and last.

It’s been less than a week since I loaded up my luggage with everything I could manage to fit and booked a one-way flight for me and Oliver. I saved for six months, and it’s nearly gone already.

“I’m a strong and capable woman. My education isn’t useless, and needing physical accommodations doesn’t make me unemployable.” I lift him, carefully supporting his back. “This is another one of our adventures, Oliver.”

He lays his head on my shoulder and sighs loudly. If I didn’t know better, I’d say my wiener dog is telling me I’m full of bologna.

three

Henry

Seven Nation Army | The White Stripes

“Does anyone actually like this shit?” I mutter.

My personal assistant, Spencer, a curly-haired ginger with milk-pale skin and chronically florid cheeks, dogs my heels as I stride through the Hunter-Lund wedding reception.

“I do. It’s understated elegance,” he says in his crisp British accent.

“There’s nothing understated about it.”

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